He has told how he had to fly home with “young lads wrapped in plastic and missing limbs”.

The fourth in line to the throne revealed his harrowing war experiences sparked the birth of the Invictus Games.

Organised by Harry, next month’s Paralympic-style competition aims to help our boys and girls on their road to recovery. Harry, 29, told how he was not prepared for the “horrendous” atrocities he saw ­during his two tours of Afghanistan.

In an emotional article, he wrote: “Sure I’d heard about it, expected it, called in many medical evacuations for it, but I had never seen it first-hand.

“By ‘it’ I mean the injuries that were being sustained large-ly due to IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices).

“Loss of life is as tragic and devastating as it gets”

Prince Harry

“Loss of life is as tragic and devastating as it gets, but to see young lads – much younger than me – wrapped in plastic and missing limbs, with hundreds of tubes coming out of them, was something I never prepared myself for.

“For me this is where it all started.”

The Prince said he has “seen the whole cycle of injury through conflict” during two tours in 2007-08 and 2012-13. And he said his admiration for everyone involved – from soldiers to medics – is “sky high”.

He said in The Sunday Times: “Many of us who have been on operations can close our eyes at any point now and hundreds of images will flash through our minds.

“But I really can’t imagine what it must be like to have images of our friends, lost or wounded, move across your mind like a bloody slideshow.”